In 1965, Ben Brown and I worked together in Jackson, Mississippi for SNCC. We spent many days together and developed a deep friendship. We served three weeks together in Jackson Jail. Ben Brown, a brother in struggle, was singled out and gunned down by Jackson police in a demonstration for a stop sign.
To the papers a headline
Civil rights worker shot
Jackson Mississippi May 12, 1967
To me a friend
A black brother
We shared a beer
Sang together
He had soul
I wear a hat
To every demonstration
Straw torn and worn
It hangs on my mantel
A hat he gave me
And now he’s dead
In jail we shouted
Through the pipes
And met to sweat
In solitary
But now he’s dead
And I ‘m alive
Ben was smiling
And now he’s dead
He fought the racists
And laughed beside me
The uncle toms he hated
and now he’s dead
We walked the streets
Together brothers unafraid
but now he’s dead
And I’m alive
and won’t forget
~Mike Smith